ROAD to The Nationals, the first-ever esports franchise model league in the country, took further root with the recent staging of its Cebu tournament leg.
Took place on Sept. 22, the Cebu leg featured the fighting game Tekken, in particular its latest incarnation Tekken 7, and was ruled by a hometown bet — “UFTC|Gogoy.”
In winning the event, Gogoy defeated the winner of the lower bracket “Gio” of Bacolod to earn the right to represent Cebu in The Nationals of the Tekken 7 tournament later this year.
Gogoy rode high to his Top 8 finish, and had to defeat his friend and training partner, PBE|Bully, in order to secure the coveted twice-to-beat advantage heading into the Finals.
His opponent Gio, meanwhile, bucked the difficulty of having to play in the lower bracket and go through various pools to reach the top.
In the finals, Gogoy’s Xiaoyu was pitted against Gio’s Master Raven.
In match 1 of the first round, Gogoy delivered a master class on Xiaoyu, executing mix-ups and combos to the T. While Gio was able to sneak in two wins, Gogoy was able to secure that round with back-to-back Perfects.
In the third and fourth round, Gio managed to hang on as he delivered a spirited rout despite Gogoy’s mix-ups, extending the Grand Finals of the Cebu Leg. However, Gogoy never lost his cool despite a few greedy lapses and ended with a perfect in the third round to finish the first-ever Tekken 7 leg of the Road to The Nationals in style.
With many players in the gaming community of Tekken, the significance of the game being part of the Road to The Nationals, along with DOTA, is not lost to local esports stakeholders.
“Having Tekken 7 included in the lineup for Road to The Nationals is the first step to bring our vision of getting our local talents to a bigger stage. We’re a Tekken Country, and it’s only fitting we cultivate and challenge our players in preparation for the ultimate goal: reaping medals at the Olympics,” Joebert Yu, President of the Esports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP).
The Road to The Nationals DOTA Qualifiers and Tekken 7 Qualifiers are both ESNAP sanctioned events.
With his place in The Nationals already secured, Gogoy now awaits the winners of the succeeding Tekken 7 tournaments happening on Sept. 29 (Gamepatch, Davao), Sept. 30 (Captain Poi’s Game House, Cagayan De Oro), Oct. 6 (Playbook Gaming Lounge + Book Shop, Makati), Oct. 13 (Secret Base, Marikina), and Oct. 14 (Playbook Gaming Lounge + Book Shop, Makati).
DOTA
As the first Tekken 7 leg of the Road to The Nationals was happening, the Bacolod leg of the DOTA 2 tournament was being played at TNC Bacolod.
Cebuano team Voyager finally secured the victory over Bacolod team Viggo.net. Voyager was initially unsuccessful in their bid to become the Cebu representatives, but found its second chance in Bacolod. Voyager will join Quid Pro Quo, Davao’s Pride, Sterling Global Dragons, and Polar Ace as the fifth team to appear at ESGS 2018 for the Road To The Nationals DOTA 2 Finals.
The remaining DOTA 2 legs for The Road To The Nationals will be on Sept. 29 at LocalHost Café in Iloilo and October 13 at UGZ in Imus, Cavite.
Powered by PLDT and Smart Communications, Road to The Nationals is designed in recognition of the burgeoning esports scene in the country and to discover the best local esports athletes to represent the country in international competitions.
For more details about The Road to The Nationals and The Nationals, hitch a Town Portal scroll over to http://thenationalsph.com. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
